Computer-Mediated Communication
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136 Computer-Mediated Communication Introduction The term computer-mediated communication (CMC) signifies the ways in which telecommunication technologies have merged with computers and computer networks to give us new tools to support teaching and learning. CMC describes the ways we use computer systems and networks to transfer, store, and retrieve information, but our emphasis is always on communication. But the computer network is primarily a mediator for communication rather than a processor of information. Instructional Purposes As it is currently used to support instructional purposes, CMC provides electronic mail and real-time chat capabilities, delivers instruction, and facilitates student-to-student and student-to- teacher interactions across a desk or across the world. These uses are enabling and promoting several paradigmatic shifts in teaching and learning, including the shift from instructor-centered distance education to student-centered distance learning and the merging of informal dialogues, invisible colleges, oral presentations, and scholarly publications into a kind of dialogic virtual university. Instructional Methods CMC is changing instructional methods in several ways, including: (a) generating improved technological tools that allow classes to use a fuller range of interactive methodologies, and (b) encouraging teachers and administrators to pay more attention to the instructional design of courses. Both of these factors can improve the quality, quantity, and patterns of communication in the skills students practice during learning, a change that requires, in many cases, both teachers and students to learn different roles. Educators often categorize the use of instructional CMC in three ways: 1. Computer conferencing provides e-mail, interactive messaging, and small and large group discussion. 2. Informatics (repositories or maintainers of organized information) include library online public access catalogs (OPACs), interactive access to remote databases, program/data archive sites (e.g., archives of files for pictures, sound, text, movies), campus-wide information systems (CWIS), wide-area information systems (WAIS), and information managers, such as Gopher and Veronica. 3. In computer-assisted instruction (CAI), the computer is used to structure and manage both the presentation of information and the possible responses available to the human user. Uses of computer conferencing, informatics, and CAI: a. mentoring, such as advising and guiding students. b. project-based instruction, either within the classroom or in projects involving community, national, or international problem solving c. guest lecturing, which promotes interaction between students and persons in the larger community d. didactic teaching, that is, supplying course content, posting assignments, or other information germane to course work e. retrieval of information from online information archives, such as OPACs, ERIC, and commercial databases f. course management, for example, advising, delivery of course content, evaluation, collecting and returning assignments g. public conferencing, such as discussion lists using mainframe Listserv software 137 h. interactive chat, used to brainstorm with teachers or peers and to maintain social relationships i. personal networking and professional growth and such activities as finding persons with similar interests on scholarly discussion lists j. facilitating collaboration k. individual and group presentations l. peer review of writing, or projects involving peer learning, groups/peer tutorial sessions, and peer counseling m. practice and experience using emerging technologies that may be intrinsically useful in today’s society n. computer-based instruction, such as tutorials, simulations, and drills. Conclusion CMC promotes self-discipline and requires students to take more responsibility for their own learning. Using CMC, instructors can vary a course’s instructional design to include everything from structured projects to open projects in which students are free to work on “messy” but authentic problem solving. On the other hand, because students must manage their own learning, this newfound independence may be a hindrance to those students who need more structure. ************** 138 Unit 4 – Teaching English for International & Competitive Examinations Teaching English for Specific Purpose (TESP English for specific purposes (ESP) is a subset of English as a second or foreign language. It usually refers to teaching the English language to university students or people already in employment, with reference to the particular vocabulary and skills they need. As with any language taught for specific purposes, a given course of ESP will focus on one occupation or profession, such as Technical English, Scientific English, English for medical professionals, English for waiters, English for tourism, etc. Despite the seemingly limited focus, a course of ESP can have a wide- ranging impact, as is the case with Environmental English. English for academic purposes, taught to students before or during their degrees, is one sort of ESP, as is Business English. Aviation English is taught to pilots, air traffic controllers and civil aviation cadets to enable clear radio communications. Definition Absolute characteristics 1.ESP is defined to meet psychological needs of the learners and how they will respond to temptations(Maslow's hierarchy of needs). 2.ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves. 3.ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre. Variable characteristics Strevens' (1988) ESP may be, but is not necessarily: 1.restricted as to the language skills to be learned (e.g. reading only); 2.not taught according to any pre-ordained methodology (pp. 1–2) Dudley-Evans & St John(1998) 1.ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;(Dabong, 2019) 2.ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of general English; 3.ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary school level; 4.ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students; 5.Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system, but it can be used with beginners (pp. 4–5) Teaching ESP is taught in many universities of the world. Many professional associations of teachers of English (TESOL, IATEFL) have ESP sections. Much attention is devoted to ESP course design. ESP teaching has much in common with English as a Foreign or Second Language and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Quickly developing Business English can be considered as part of a larger concept of English for Specific Purposes. ESP is different from standard English teaching in the fact that the one doing the teaching not only has to be proficient in standard English, but they also must be knowledgeable in a technical field. When doctors of foreign countries learn English, they need to learn the names of their tools, naming conventions, and methodologies of their profession before one can ethically perform surgery. ESP courses for medicine would be relevant for any medical profession, just as how learning electrical engineering would be beneficial to a foreign engineer. Some ESP scholars recommend a "two layer" ESP course: the first covering all generic knowledge in the specific field of study, and then a second layer that would focus on the specifics of the specialization of the individual. ************* 139 International English Language Testing System The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an international standardised test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English and was established in 1989. IELTS is one of the major English-language tests in the world, others being the TOEFL, TOEIC, PTE:A, and OPI/OPIc. IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian, Irish and New Zealand academic institutions, by over 3,000 academic institutions in the United States, and by various professional organisations across the world. IELTS is the only Secure English Language Test approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) for visa customers applying both outside and inside the UK. It also meets requirements for immigration to Australia, where TOEFL and Pearson Test of English Academic are also accepted and New Zealand. In Canada, IELTS, TEF, or CELPIP are accepted by the immigration authority. No minimum score is required to pass the test. An IELTS result or Test Report Form is issued to all test takers with a score from "band 1" ("non-user") to "band 9" ("expert user") and each institution sets a different threshold. There is also a "band 0" score for those who did not attempt the test. Institutions are advised not to consider a report older than two years to be valid, unless the user proves that they have worked to maintain their level. In 2017, over 3 million tests were taken in more than 140 countries, up from 2 million tests in 2012, 1.7 million tests in 2011 and 1.4 million tests in 2009. In 2007, IELTS administered more than one million tests in a single 12-month period for the first time ever, making it the world's most popular English language test for higher education and immigration. History The English